A law firm in Houston, Texas, fired a female employee because she became pregnant. The employee filed a charge against the firm with the EEOC, and then sued the firm. You would think that, if the firm somehow missed that this was an employment no-no, this experience educated management at the firm.

Unfortunately, that was not the case. The firm, which has offices in several locations, fired a paralegal from its El Paso firm when she became pregnant. The paralegal sued the firm, but this one has a twist. The firm invoked an arbitration agreement.

The matter went up to the El Paso Court of Appeals, which reversed the trial court. The paralegal’s case will go to arbitration. Why wasn’t this a slam dunk against the firm? -CCE